Steve Tilley, QMI Agency

The weird thing about Superman is despite all his incredible power – or perhaps because of it – he’s not the kind of guy who hits first. Like a blue-and-red Boy Scout, it takes a lot of provocation to get him to fight back.

But even the Man of Steel has his limits. And after years of being Marvel’s cinematic whipping boy, Superman and his pals have hauled back and landed a flurry of blows on their rivals, with Warner Bros. announcing release dates for a whopping nine movies based on DC Comics characters, set to hit theatres between March 2016 – the release of Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice – and the end of 2020.

With Warner finally pushing back against Marvel’s dominance in this decade’s superhero movie cavalcade, here’s a somewhat pipe-dreamy look at what DC’s upcoming batch of superheroic films might be.

Aug. 5, 2016: Shazam or Sandman

It’s unlikely one of the Justice League A-listers will have their solo outing so soon after Batman V Superman, so this could be the Shazam flick that Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson can’t stop hinting about, or a movie based on the Sandman (the Neil Gaiman graphic novel, not the Spider-Man supervillain) that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is working on.

June 23, 2017: Wonder Woman

Assuming reaction to Batman V Superman’s Gal Gadot as the Amazon warrior is favourable enough, she ought to get her solo outing here, which would set up the long-awaited Justice League movie in the fall.

Nov. 17, 2017: Justice League

DC’s answer to the Avengers could land here, after we’re introduced to the likes of Cyborg, Flash and Aquaman in Batman V Superman – presumably through quick cameos, since covering Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman in one film will be tricky enough.

March 23, 2018: Man of Steel 2

On the heels of Justice League, Man of Steel 2 seems most logical for this date, with cameos from the rest of the super-squad to remind us that some of them will be getting their own solo films soon enough.

July 27, 2018: Batman

If he isn’t laughed off the screen in Batman V Superman and Justice League, perhaps this is where Ben Affleck will have his own Caped Crusader movie. A 2018 release date would give the ever-busy actor/director plenty of time to clear his jam-packed slate.

April 5, 2019: Green Lantern and/or the Flash

Spring is a good time to test the waters with heroes who aren’t household names yet, so the Green Lantern reboot could land here, or perhaps a Flash movie. There have even been rumours of a team-up, so let’s hedge bets and go with that in the hopes of being at least half right.

June 14, 2019: Aquaman

Now we’re getting into pure conjecture territory. Wonder Woman 2? Could be, if the first film does well. Or maybe Shazam 2, if it turns out to be a surprise hit like Marvel’s lighter (yet hugely successful) Guardians of the Galaxy. Nah, let’s go even weirder: Aquaman! Suddenly the running joke in Entourage doesn’t seem so silly anymore.

April 3, 2020: Justice League 2

With hypothetical solo films for Batman, Green Lantern, the Flash and Aquaman out of the way, this would be the perfect time to get the band back together. It’s unlikely Warner/DC would release a Justice League sequel in a different month than the original, but we’re just spitballin’ now.

June 19, 2020: Teen Titans

Let’s pretend Robin is introduced in the Batfleck solo movie, then overlook the fact that Cyborg will be, like, 30 years old. Because I’d absolutely KILL to see them team up with Starfire and Raven and the rest of the (technically “new”) Teen Titans for a live-action release. Chances of this actually happening? Almost zero. Degree of awesomeness if it did? Off the charts.